Aftermath
by oookellyooo
Summary: Set post-L4D2, featuring the Survivors and what they did next. Focussing on Nick and Ellis, what will the pair do when their group is split in half, and they're left to travel on alone?
1. Prologue

**Prologue – The Split**

_"Kill all sons-a-bitches. That's my 'ficial instructions."_

It had been something of a joke at first, but all too quickly that joke had become something of a way of life. In the security of the safe room, Ellis checked and double checked the clip in his magnum, eyes occasionally darting up to look at the barred metal door. Stood in front of it, in what must have once been a pristine white suit, was Nick. The silence that had fallen over the survivors was occasionally punctuated by the sound of Nick's pistol taking out another infected through the grill of the safe room door, and the dull thud of the body beyond falling lifelessly to the floor. At the opposite wall, the hulking high-school gym teacher, lovingly nicknamed 'Coach' (Ellis had yet to even think of asking the man's real name), sat on the floor with his back against the graffiti-covered wall as Rochelle, the groups only female survivor, was wrapping a bandage around the man's bicep securely, neither of them speaking.

The Survivors. That's what they were, and they were limited in number. The four had travelled together for some weeks now, encountering only one small group of three that seemed to be immune, as they were. The other voices they heard always seemed distant, to the point where Ellis wondered if his mind was making them up, just so they didn't seem so alone in the world. The mechanic (or perhaps that should be ex-mechanic, considering he didn't really have a job anymore) pulled his cap more firmly onto his head with a tug at the brim, sighing softly as he pushed himself up to his feet. It was too damn quiet when the place wasn't full of screaming zombies. "Y'know, this reminds me of this time that me and my buddy Keith, we did this vow of silence thing-"

"Let me guess... it didn't last long?"

It was the first time Nick had spoken in at least two hours. The man hadn't even taken his eyes from the door grill as he responded, but just continued to stare out of them into the darkness, shooting anything that moved past or towards them. "Well, I wouldn't say it lasted *long*, but it was pretty funny. Y'see, we ain't the kind t-"

"Maybe another time, Ellis."

"...Okay."

They never wanted to hear his stories, and for the life of him Ellis didn't understand why. None of the rest of them seemed keen on talking, and surely this suffocating silence was just as bad for them as it was for him? Stress, he told himself. That must have been it. People always acted weirdly when they were under stress, right? A little dejected, he checked the safety was on his mag, then pushed it muzzle-first into the pocket of his dark blue overalls, arms tied around his waist. Perhaps he should have kept the top half pulled up and buttoned, as perhaps his favourite yellow shirt would have been saved from the blood, sweat, acid and bile that all four of them seemed to have become magnets for. He pulled at the hem of his shirt, frowning down at the faded and stain Bull Shifters logo and realised with a small pang that the rest of the guys who were part of their little club and bore similar shirts were, more likely than not, all dead. Or worse than dead. 'Bull Shifters' was the name of the truck club that he and Keith had started up back in high-school, and the name just stuck from then on. He was, almost certainly, the last of the group that remained. It was a sobering thought.

"God these guys just never leave up," Nick breathed, mainly to himself as he finally lowered his aching gun arm, a lull in attacks leaving him with the hope that, for now, they were alone. He changed the clip in his gun for a fresh one, and backed away from the door, finally tearing his eyes from the world outside as he looked back into the room, Ellis catching his eye with a grin. Nick didn't return it. Nick didn't smile much, Ellis had noticed, which was a shame. The guy must've had his share of problems back home, wherever home was, for him to be such a serious character now. As he quietly watched the city slicker, Ellis's gaze followed Nick's own to the walls, where scrawled all across the plastered surface, notes and tallies written in marker pen, crayon, charcoal and pencil remained, a testament to those who had used the safe room before them.

"Sal, I've taken Ben and we're making a break for it with some others we've met up with. If you read this, head for Louisiana Air Base. We love you. Jeff."

As Ellis read the note, as he had so many others as they'd rested in safe rooms, he couldn't help but wonder the outcome. "Reckon Sal and Jeff ever met up again?" he asked as he re-read the message, written on the yellow wall in blue colouring pencil.

"Who knows," came Rochelle's response from the other side, followed by the deep voice of Coach, adding "Unlikely. We all thought New Orleans was a safe zone... And look at it. Doubt the air base is any better..."

Pessimistic, perhaps... but true. Not even Ellis was going to deny that the likeliness of Sal ever finding Ben and Jeff again was slim to none. Did Jeff himself think the very same thing as he wrote his message? Well, at least Ben and Jeff had had each other, right? It was more than Ellis had when he started out. The young mechanic from Savannah had gone from having almost everything he could want... to having no more than the clothes on his back. He'd lost everything: family, friends, home... but then, hadn't they all? None of them spoke much about who they'd lost or left behind, Ellis getting the impression that Ro' and Coach both had their burdens to bear... but Nick, who knew. The guy didn't seem like a family man, nor a friend's man, for that matter. Perhaps that was why he seemed to cope so well? Perhaps he had, quite literally, had nothing to lose when the infection hit?

No point in asking. He'd never get an answer. Out of everyone, Nick was the survivor that Ellis knew least about. He knew Ro' had worked for a news station from Ohio and was sent to Savannah to cover a story on the outbreak, and that Coach had been the health teacher at one of the schools in Savannah (not Ellis's own, though Coach had probably taught a few of Ellis's friends in the past). Nick was a mystery. He was a city dweller and a gambling man, but that was all they knew of him. When asked, he either refused to answer, or changed the subject.

"So, what now? The safe zone clearly isn't here, so unless we're planning to settle down for a new life in New Orleans, we gotta figure where we're moving next?"

Coach had always been the kind to want to keep on the move, taking them further from home with each passing day... and with no-where else to go and a target to reach, none have them had felt inclined to argue. But now that New Orleans had proven to be a lost cause, and with no other safe zones that they knew of, what were they meant to do now? Ellis looked around the group, Nick still gazing at the wall as if reading the graffiti (though his eyes weren't moving), Coach looking between them all for a response, and Rochelle looking down at the floor, teary-eyed.

"I want to go home."

All three men turned to look at her at once as Rochelle quietly muttered the five simple words. "Home? But Ro', Ohio's lost! We seen it on the walls! Ain't gunna be no-one there left to greet ya.." Ellis argued, but was cut off again by the young woman, her voice a little harder this time.

"I don't know that. We're immune, aren't we? There's got to be others! And if not... well, I'd rather survive back home than keep wandering forever. Let's face it: whatever safe zones there may have been, they aren't safe anymore..."

"There's going to be somewhere out there with other survivors," Nick cut in, gaze returning back to the wall.

"Are there? Why? We don't know that! Since leaving Savannah, we've seen only a handful of people, and they were all looking out for their own. If... If we're going to be wandering until we find somewhere safe to settle, I'd rather settle back in my own home town."

Silence fell again, and for once Ellis didn't feel the need to break it. He took his gaze from Rochelle, walking across the safe room to sit on some empty storage crates stacked up in one corner, vaguely aware of Coach slumping back against the wall, and Nick eventually taking a seat on the floor as well. Rochelle was the only one who didn't move, sat a short distance from Coach, her arms wrapped tightly about her knees as she pulled them to her chest, eyes fixed on the floor.

"I'll go with you."

The silence may have stretched for an hour, or perhaps it was only minutes, but Coach's deep voice brought them all back to reality, Ellis's jaw dropping, and Nick barely moving. "But.. but ya can't just go wanderin' off! We gotta stick together, right? Strength in numbers!" the mechanic exclaimed, but Coach shook his head.

"Or just makes us more of a target. Something tells me Rochelle isn't going to change her mind on this, and I can't let her go alone. Besides... I'm tired, guys. I can't keep this up the rest of my life. You guys go on and see what else is out there. Hell, if you get rescued, try sending a chopper our way, yeah?"

Ellis continued to protest, thinking of every reason under the sun why this was a bad idea, but Coach, and eventually Rochelle when she reclaimed her voice, shot him down at every point. The debate went back and forth for lord only knows how long, punctuated only when they heard noise outside, at which they'd suddenly go silent, before continuing their arguments in hushed tones which swiftly increased back to normal volume. Ellis was starting to run out of reasons when Nick, who'd remained uninvolved the entire time, finally decided to have his say. "Ellis and I will carry on. You two go Ohio way, and.. maybe we'll meet up. Leave messages in the safe rooms. If we ever come looking, we'll follow the trail."

Ellis couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he certainly wasn't going to accept it without a fight. Nick's decision had kick-started the young man's fervour once more, and he pushed for the rest of the evening to keep everyone together, but as the hours slipped by, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. He wanted to keep moving, but to do so... it'd be him and Nick, alone. By the time he ran out of steam, his eyes were red from blinking back tears, and his throat felt dry. He finally announced that he was tired and they'd talk about it in the morning, pushing himself off the crate and moving over to the far corner of the room, laying down on the tiled floor with an arm beneath his head as his pillow, and eventually fell into an unpleasant sleep. Everyone was just tired, he told himself. They'd be more optimistic in the morning. Yeah, everything would be better when the sun came up.


	2. Then There Were Two

**Chapter One – Then There Were Two**

When he'd finally dozed off, he felt into a sleep so deep that it could have lasted weeks, for all he knew. It had been a long time indeed since Ellis had slept so heavily and without waking once, which in itself should have struck him as odd. They all took turns in staying up on watch during the night, and no-one had woken him to do his share. What gives? His mind slowly roused itself, his eyes still shut as he pondered whether or not to let his aching body go back to sleep once more, but a combination of a bar of sunlight from the safe room door hitting his face and the unusually still quiet that had settled about him made that near impossible to do so. Gradually, squinting in retaliation to the natural light, he began to open his eyes and pushed his body into a seating position with a heavy groan. He blinked hard a few times to focus his vision, quickly centreing on Nick's form sat a mere foot away or so from him, eyes shut, chin on his chest as his back leant against the wall behind him with his legs flat outstretched and arms folded across him.

Ellis looked around the room.

They were gone.

He had to admit that part of him had almost expected this, and he guessed he wouldn't be too far wrong to assume that Nick had approved Rochelle and Coach to slip away quietly before the youngest in their group came to from his slumber. Half their group medical, food, and ammo supplies had gone with the two deserters, a pit in Ellis's stomach straining uncomfortably at the thought of his two friends out there, battling alone on their journey. He tried to push aside the strong feeling that he'd never see either of them again. He couldn't quite believe that they'd left without even saying goodbye, after all they'd been through. He could never just leave like that. The survivors... well, they were the closest thing Ellis had left in this world to a family right now, and as he gazed at the spots where Coach and Rochelle had sat the night before, his heart ached to know that the last thing he'd said to them was "We'll sort this in the mornin'.

As his eyes miserably travelled the now vacant spaces of floor, his gaze was caught suddenly my a new scrawling on the wall, written in what looked like charcoal (as many messages were: it was easier to get ahold of then a pen). Scrambling across the safe room to it, Ellis knelt down in front of the wall, shoulders hunched, as he read the message a foot from the ground. It was Ro's handwriting.

_Ellis, we didn't want to make things hard, so decided to leave before you woke up. We'll see each other again someday. Don't forget to send a chopper back to Ohio if you find one, kay?_

_Don't you dare fall without us there to cover your butt. Remember when you said your tattoo meant you were a badass zombie killing machine? Make sure you live up to it._

_Enjoy Vegas. I think that's where Nick's heading._

_And Nick? Keep an eye on the kid._

_We love you both._

_R & C_

He read it again. And again. In fact, Ellis continued reading the words over and over until a light shove to his shoulder told him he wasn't the only one awake. Either he'd been totally engrossed in the message or Nick had been extremely quiet as he got up, as the man was now stood right behind him, stern face firmly in place. "Ready to move out, sport?" he asked, though for once, it was more of a genuine question than a hypothetical one. Ellis's eyes moved back to the wall, looking at the message once more, before nodding.

"Vegas ain't gunna come to us, right?"

"Right."

Nick held out his hand, the mechanic grasping onto it and heaving himself back to his feet, unnecessarily dusting himself down once he was up. Vegas. He'd always wanted to go some day, but hadn't imagined it'd be during the apocalypse. Oh well, better late than never, right? Not saying much, the two men began to prepare for departure, Ellis torn between wanting to carry as much as possible with him, and wanting to travel light. He stuffed his first aid kit with supplies until it was straining at the seams, and checked his Magnum and shotgun once again, slinging the latter onto his back using the strap he'd fashioned by himself from a belt. Straightening up his cap to shield his eyes from the light outside, he turned to the door, where Nick was already waiting.

"Kill all sons-a-bitches..."

"That's our official instructions."

The men shared a rare smile, Ellis nodding. Strap still around his shoulder, he pulled the shotgun around to his front, patting the deep pockets of his overalls to ensure he'd got as many shells as he could carry, also with spare clips for the hand gun. He'd pick up more ammo or replacement weapons on the way.

"Ready?"

He nodded to Nick, and the older male removed the bar from the door, quietly, and set it down before pushing the door open (with some difficulty, due to the corpses piled in front of and near it from his shooting last night) and stepping out first into the daylight, Ellis close behind him. The street was reasonably clear, besides the bodies of course, but that didn't put either man at ease. Nick held his submachine gun up, aiming it forward as he walked, with Ellis ready to raise his own weapon at any moment as he closed the safe room door behind him, leaving Nick to scour the road ahead of them while he kept his own eyes behind them and to the sides. By now, they were already pretty adept in the art of traversing zombie-infected lands...

Progress was slow throughout the day, both men realising some of the downfalls to their halved team-size. Sure, it was less people to look out for and faster to move... but it was a fraction of the firepower, and that made things harder. Whereas they would have taken risks before, Nick was more insistent on using more careful routes and tactics, not leaving anything to chance. Not much of a leader himself, Ellis followed Nick's suggestions and plans, and to his merit, they seemed to pull off just fine. They didn't get through areas as quickly as they used to, but they encountered less trouble in the process. Silver lining, Ellis supposed.

He had no clue what town they were in anymore, as he'd been too on-edge to pay much attention. Once they had left Savannah, Ellis was just as lost as any of them. In his home town, he knew the place like the back of his hand, whether it be on the roads or off them. Out here, he was a stranger, and despite Nick's confidence he knew that he had no better idea where they were going than the mechanic did. They merely went whichever way seemed safest, looking out for transport as they did so. There were plenty of cars around in decent condition, but most were out of gas. Getting a car, they decided, would be their priority, as getting out of civilisation would be much easier with one, plus it'd help them carry more supplies.

Canned food. Ellis had no problem with eating from tins, but Nick was clearly used to something... a little more classy when he sat down to a meal. However, it was the stuff that preserved best, and so when they found an abandoned grocery store that hadn't been entirely ransacked, Ellis's wide smile at finding twenty or so unopened cans of spaghetti-o's, chilli and soup wasn't one shared by Nick, who wrinkled his nose and made no comment. "Fresh outta caviar, I'm afraid," Ellis teased with a smirk, Nick merely tutting in an unimpressed response. They carried on through the town throughout the day and well into night, the duo now more than accustomed to travelling under little more than moonlight. The infected, it seemed, had no preference for light or dark, so travelling after the sun had set was really no greater threat than doing so in the day. Eventually, however, fatigue began to set in, despite their careful movements in avoiding conflict as much as possible, leaving Nick to finally suggest that they find somewhere to hold out for the night. 'Somewhere' ended up being a small detached bungalow on the edge of town, Nick pointing out that the single storey to the building made it a safer spot with much fewer potential entry points. The area in general seemed reasonably quiet, but they didn't want to take risks. The house was fully scouted out, the pair checking every corner in case of any Infected still lurking inside, but they were thankfully alone. The electricity was down in the area, which surprised neither of them, but cold water still seemed to be running, which was a bonus. Dinner that evening was a few of the cans Ellis had salvaged earlier, eaten cold due to no power with which to heat them. They ate in silence, both with their ears pricked in case of any unwanted visitors, but an hour of perfect silence assured them that, for now, they were safe.

"Wan' me t' take the first watch? Think I slept more than yew last night," Ellis offered as Nick ran a hand over his face, stifling a yawn. Sure the place seemed clear, but they'd gotten into the habit of keeping watch, and they weren't going to get rid of that precaution any time soon. "Sure thing, Overalls," Nick responded with a nod, rolling his shoulders with a slight grunt as the aching muscles stretched themselves in relief, "Shut all the doors. We'll hole up in the bedroom."

Danger really did bring out new traits in people. While Ellis was happy to crash just about anywhere comfortable without much care to who passed out next to him, Nick was far from the kind of guy who would let another man share his bed, no matter how innocent the situation. That had changed since the Infection hit. When their group had been lucky enough to find shelter with proper beds, it wasn't long before Nick was all too accustomed to sharing. As for Ellis, he quite liked sharing with the older man: he didn't move much in his sleep, making for a reasonably uninterrupted nights rest. This house predictably only had the one bedroom, small with a single window and containing one double bed."Pull the shutters down on there, El," the gambler instructed as he shrugged off his jacket, folding it and placing it onto the bedside table on what was now 'his' side of the bed. The mechanic nodded, taking a furtive look out between the shutter slats into the empty street beyond before snapping them closed, throwing the room into almost complete darkness, save for the moonlight that managed to find gaps in the wooden panels of the window shutter. Both their eyes took time to readjust to this, but with the room so small it wasn't hard to feel your way to the bed, Nick climbing on without bothering to get beneath the blanket, sighing in relief as his body finally relaxed. Shotgun still in hand, Ellis laid down beside him, the weapon clutched to his chest. Neither spoke for a few moments, but that was a status that never lasted long with Ellis around.

"Hey, Nick?"

"...Yeah?"

"Reckon we're gunna be doin' this forever?"

He didn't answer. It was a fear both men, and probably all others who were surviving out there, had running through their minds since the outbreak began. The several wordless moments between the pair dragged on for what seemed like an eternity before Nick finally responded.

"Can't honestly say I know. Gotta be others out there, right? If not... Well, then we better hope Coach and Ro' get friendly in their time together, because repopulating the planet is gonna be hard just between you and I."

Ellis chuckled, shaking his head. If that Zoey girl had joined up with them, he'd be more than eager to help kickstart a breeding program... but who knew if she was even alive anymore? Right now, the only thing certain in his life was Nick, and it seemed the city boy wasn't going to go down any time soon. If anything happened to Nick, Ellis had no idea what he'd do. He couldn't carry on alone. If anything, splitting from Coach and Rochelle had made him feel closer to his only remaining friend, and it seemed that Nick perhaps felt the same way. Despite still being sarcastic and standoffish with the mechanic, Nick had definitely warmed to him today. Now down to just the two of them, it hit them with much more realism that, despite how highly possible it was to happen, neither of them wanted to be dealing with this solo. Neither spoke again, Nick dozing off into a light sleep as Ellis lay staring up at the black ceiling, still clutching the shotgun close to his body, mind full of non-stop thoughts about what lay ahead of them.

Things were going to change a lot now they only had eachother to depend on.


	3. New Beginnings

**Chapter Two – New Beginnings**

"Aw, shit..."

He'd fallen asleep.

The room was poorly lit by the daylight which found its way through the shutter gaps, not enough to hurt his tired eyes, but bright enough to light the bedroom which Ellis and Nick had commandeered the previous evening. The shotgun he'd fallen asleep with was still held to his chest, though his grip on it was relaxed. Had anything broken into the room during the night...

Shit. Nick was going to be so pissed at him.

He twisted his head to glance at the man asleep at his side, the two having shifted quite close in their sleep, probably seeking out body warmth unconsciously. After many a night passing out in fields with friends, Ellis was more than used to falling asleep with a foot of personal space, and wake up almost spooning the nearest living thing. Natural instinct, he supposed. It didn't bother him, though it did mean he had to be extra careful as he slowly pulled himself away from Nick and off the bed, taking extra care not to trip or catch himself on anything, as he did have a slight tendency towards clumsiness in the early mornings. Readjusting his hold on the pump-action shotgun in his arms, he stepped softly towards the bedroom door; an action that would have been easier in socks, though they'd all become accustomed to falling asleep with their shoes still firmly laced to their feet, just in case.

Nick stirred a little as the mechanic pulled open the door with a slight creak, but he merely shifted his weight and relaxed again, eyes still closed. Ellis couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at the image. It was _strange_ to see Nick relax, his lips neutral instead of frowning or pulling a sarcastic smirk. It was almost a relief to see that the city slicker _could_ relax, almost making Ellis feel less guilty about allowing the man a full night of uninterrupted sleep. He turned away finally, beginning to do a turn of the house, ensuring nothing had creeped on in during the night. Every door and window was still securely fastened, and nothing lurked in the corners of any rooms. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ellis was pleased to confirm in his mind that they were alone. He dropped the barrel of the gun down, and instead busied himself with making breakfast... if you can call opening a can of spaghetti-o's 'making breakfast'. Taking a spoon from one of the kitchen drawers, he settled himself down in the living room, sinking into an armchair and eating straight from the can.

"You didn't wake me up."

The voice behind him made him jump with a start, only barely keeping hold of the can, spoon clattering to the floor as his hand made an instinctive dart for the shotgun laid beside him. "Geez, Nick! Gotta warn a guy before you creep up on him like that, y'know! I could'a shot yew!"

Nick raised an eyebrow, casting his gaze over Ellis.

"Somehow, I doubt that."

The man had donned his white (or, more accurately, heavily stained white) jacket, and had a pistol in his hand. There was no doubt that, even if he _had_ turned a gun onto him, Nick would have been able to incapacitate Ellis first. "You were meant to wake me up for my turn on watch," Nick persisted, bringing up the subject again. Ellis turned away, pulling his trucker cap more firmly onto his head as he leant down in his chair to grab the spoon from the floor, shotgun back on the armrest beside him.

"Yeah, well y' looked like yew could do with the extra rest."

"So you stayed up all night?"

"...Yep."

Ellis wasn't a great liar, and Nick was good at calling people out. His steely gaze was burning into the back of Ellis' head as the younger man coughed awkwardly, keeping his eyes on his canned breakfast as Nick circled around the back of the armchair to stand in front of him, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to catch Ellis' eye. "All night? You're looking pretty good for a guy that hasn't slept in over twenty-four hours, Overalls. You [i]sure[/i] you were up?"

Was there really any point in Nick asking, or Ellis bothering to lie? They both knew the truth. "I.. Well, it was so quiet like, an' I just kinda-"

"You fell asleep."

"...Yeah, y' could say that."

Nick gave an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he screwed his eyes up in clear frustration. "Look, I'm _sorry_, bro! I didn't mean to or nothin'. Was laid there one minute and the next, we got light comin' through the window. Ain't like I fell asleep on purpose."

"That's not the point, Ellis. _Anything_ could have happened whilst we were out. You think this is a game? You think that just because we've made it this far, we're invincible now? Hell, kid, we're more at risk now than _ever_ before."

The young Georgian gazed morosely at the floor, his appetite lost. Nick, of course, was right. He had every right to be pissed about it too, since it was his life on the line as well. The older man was quite able to continue this spiel for some time as well, prepared to take all his frustrations out verbally on the young man, knowing that he'd sit there and take it like he always did. Hell, Ellis put up with a lot of shit from everyone and rarely said a word against it, all in his desperation to be accepted and keep everyone happy. He was the perfect target for anyone's venting... and yet looking at him as he sat, meek and silent, chewing his lower lip as Nick cut into him, the gambler found his agitation quickly begin to ebb.

Kids like Ellis used to piss him off. Hell, he'd met enough of them in his time to be able to claim such a thing in earnest, and at first, Ellis too had got on his nerves like the royal pain-in-the-ass Nick had expected him to be. Over time, things changed, though he guessed that was inevitable after all they'd gone through. Ellis became... tolerable, he supposed was the best way to put it, and now? Now, he wasn't sure. He _liked_ the kid, which was odd, as he rarely 'liked' anyone. While he'd never admit it, neither to himself nor anyone else, he could even go as far as saying that Ellis was probably the person he'd become closest to in a very long time. Sure, they didn't open up to each other much (or at least, Nick didn't. Ellis was more than happy to do so), and they didn't exactly act the way you'd expect close friends to do so, but the fact of the matter was that Nick would do almost anything to keep Ellis safe, and he knew the young man would do the same for him. If that wasn't friendship, then he didn't know what was.

"...There's a garage 'round the side of the house. I reckoned we could take a look, see if they've got a useable car in there."

The change of subject surprised Ellis, who'd fully expected at least ten minutes of angry retribution from Nick. He looked up at him, expression clearly confused before he slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay. We can do that," he replied, not entirely sure what had prompted Nick to drop the subject so suddenly. It wasn't like him, but Ellis wasn't about to complain about it. It was a welcome change, and one he'd happily like to see more often. "Just uh... lemme finish this up an' we'll go take a look."

Nick nodded, declining the offer of a can of breakfast for himself, and taking a seat in the second armchair a little across from Ellis's own. The mechanic continued to shovel down the remains of his cold breakfast, finishing up with a satisfied sigh, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Geez, he needed to shave, he realised as the stubble across his chin scratched against his hand. He'd never been the type to grow facial hair fast (a trait he would be playfully teased for amongst his friends) but it had been a good few weeks since a razor had even touched his skin, and he wasn't keen on it. "Might check the bathroom f' a razor before we do anythin' else," he mentioned as he placed the can down onto the small coffee table between his and Nick's seat, picking up the gun. The gambler absent-mindedly ran his fingers over his own cheek, nodding. "Not a bad idea, sport," he agreed, pushing himself to his feet and following Ellis through the house to the rather small bathroom, clearly not designed for two full-grown men to be in there at the same time.

Ellis opened the mirrored medicine cabinet over the sink, and the mix of items within it clearly showed that a couple had likely lived here once: women's toiletries mixed in amongst men's... including a couple of disposable razors and a can of shaving foam. "Bingo," the hick smiled, grabbing hold of the blades and passing one to Nick, both of them placing their firearms on the side of the bathtub as they awkwardly manoeuvred to stand side-by-side in front of the mirror.

It was the closest quarters the two had ever intentionally placed themselves in... and for some reason, it felt odd. Ellis's bare arms were brushing against the sleeves of Nick's jacket, and both men seemed to be making a very definite effort not to look at the contact, nor catch each other's gaze in the mirror in front of them as they foamed up and started shaving. Why did something as simple as standing closely next to Nick make him feel suddenly weird? Perhaps it was just a side-effect of their near-argument that morning, he told himself. Or just tiredness. Either way, he made sure to keep his eyes on nothing but himself as he shaved his face clean, nicking his face with the blade only a few times (which was good, for him!) compared to Nick, who not only finished in half the time but made a much smoother job of it. More practise, Ellis figured, and it was only after Nick had splashed his face clean and used one of the towels (not entirely clean, but certainly cleaner than anything else they had to hand!) to dry himself before leaving the bathroom that the mechanic felt his tense shoulders soften. He hadn't realised just how much his muscles had tightened in that short space of time.

It hadn't been an unpleasant tension, he mused as the blade continued to slowly run across his soapy skin, it was just... different. It was a sensation that he held some vague recollection of having felt in the past, though he couldn't pinpoint where or why. All he knew is that it wasn't a _bad_ thing, and that was enough to make him smile past it, finishing up shaving and drying off his face. Observing his now smooth face in the mirror, ignoring the few spots of blood that were still blooming, he looked much better. _Now for another few weeks before I can do that again, _he thought to himself, and with that in mind he scooped up a half-empty shampoo bottle from around the edge of the bath tub, and turning the sink tap one once more, pulled off his shirt as he stooped down to wet his hair.

Nick was walking aimlessly around the living room, stopping at the window, curtains still pulled across, and pushed them aside slightly to peer outside, The street was blessedly deserted, something they should be especially thankful for what with Ellis falling asleep on the job. Nothing stirred in the street. Not even a breeze carried through the air, dragging along debris with it. For the first time in god only knew how long, everything seemed perfectly still. It was unnerving, in some respects, that the only sound he could hear was that of the tap running in the bathroom across the other side of the house, and his companion occasionally humming to himself. With only that to focus on, he was instantly aware of when the water shut off. He turned back from the window only when he heard footsteps pad into the room.

Ellis wondered why Nick was looking at him so unusually.

"My hair was a state. Probably attractin' zombies with the smell'a it," he explained as he rubbed the towel over the back of his head, soaking up water from the mess of short, loose curls. Nick fixed him with the peculiar gaze a little longer, before looking very quickly and pointedly away. "Yeah, good idea," was all he managed to get out, Ellis smiling in his half-sheepish manner as he turned to go back towards the bedroom to collect his stuff, before he was interrupted halfway through the door.

"Hey, El?"

"Mmm?"

"...You look good. That Zoey chick doesn't know what she's missing."

Ellis wasn't sure what to make of the comment, so settled with a simple "Thanks, bro," as reply, before disappearing through the doorway. Had a full night's sleep actually made Nick into a nicer guy? A guy who _complimented_ him?

Weird.


	4. Ignition

**Chapter Three – Ignition**

The garage was very conveniently located, with a single door from the kitchen (locked, leaving Nick to force it open with several swift kicks) leading straight into it, and revealing a dark blue Honda Civic. Typical, Ellis supposed, as the damn things seemed to be everywhere. He couldn't even begin to count the number of Civic's he'd seen on the road or in his shop over the years, though at least they were _reasonably_ reliable. He and Nick looked the car over, Nick taking an interest more in the aesthetics ("No blood on the seats. That's a good thing.") whereas Ellis's interests were more in the technical workings of the vehicle. Clearly this had once been a nice neighbourhood (or the owners had an unusual amount of trust in the security of their garage door), as lucky for them, the car doors were unlocked. No key (not that he'd expected to find one), but hotwiring wasn't a difficult task for him. He sat side-saddle in the drivers seat for a moment, reaching down to pull the handle that popped open the hood, before climbing out again and setting the car open before him, leaning in.

"Seems in pretty decent shape," he said out loud, though the comment was mainly to himself. "She might need a bit'a tweekin', seeing how she's been sat in here without movin' for a while, but reckon this'll do just fine."

Of course, he wasn't sure if it had gas. The easiest way to check would have been to try the ignition, but fear of the engine attracting unwanted attention made him wary of doing do. "Got what you need to sort her out?" Nick asked as he circled the car to lean beside Ellis, who pushed himself up from under the hood, giving a shrug. "Not really," he replied honestly, "But I'll manage. T'be honest, ain't a lot that needs doin'."

He bent over the car again, hands delving deep amongst the metal work as Nick watched over shouldn't have made Ellis feel awkward to see Nick's eyes on him like that, but it did, for some reason. Hell, it went as far as making the hair along the back of his neck stand on end, and yet it wasn't a _bad_ sensation, if he was honest. He was quite glad to have Nick's attention, seeing as he vied for it so often. As for Nick... well, needless to say, the man was more than aware just what he was doing, and could probably have very easily explained the weird feeling Ellis was getting, were the hick to bother mentioning it. In the previous weeks adrenaline-fuelled survival attempts, most other wants and desires beyond the need for food and rest were easy to ignore. Now however, with things having wound down a little, Nick was all too aware of his mind and bodies other needs reminding him all too frequently that they were still there, awaiting his attention. Ellis, however, was enjoying the adventure of the zombie apocalypse to pay the matter too much attention... and even if he hadn't, sex had never been one of his top priorities in life as it was. Bros before hos, and all that.

"I'm gonna go try washing the suit," Nick announced after a hesitant clearing of his throat, pulling his eyes away from the young man bent almost double in front of him. "You be okay out here?"

"Sure," Ellis assured him, lifting his face to smile up at Nick, reaching a hand back to pat at the handgun poking out of his overalls pocket. "I'll be in soon. Gimme a couple just t' check this out a bit more, 'kay?"

Clearly this was okay, as Ellis set straight back to work and Nick didn't protest, instead leaving the broken door between kitchen and garage open as he returned into the main house, the sound of running water soon filling Ellis's ears as Nick began to fill the bathtub with water. It was several minutes before the mechanic finally tore himself away from the car engine, rubbing his hands on the legs of his overalls to smear off the grease (not realising he'd already managed to smudge it over his cheeks absentmindedly) and went after his friend. "Y'might wanna use this," he said from the doorway as Nick occupied the bathroom, sat on the edge of the tub as his white coat soaked in the cold water. Ellis held out a box of washing powder he'd found in one of the kitchen cupboards, still half-full. "Not sure how much good it'll be doin' ya with those stains, though.."

Nick took the box, glancing over it once before pouring a hefty amount of the white granules into the water, bending again to swish it around. "Blood washes out, sport. So does brains. And bile."

Ellis tilted his head curiously. "And yew know this... how, 'xactly?"

"Experience."

He always did this. Nick had an annoying habit of alluding to his mysterious past, then pulling away from giving any real information. It drove Ellis to distraction, and he had a feeling Nick was fully aware of this fact, owing to the smirk on his lips as he turned his attention back to the washing. At least, Ellis thought with a hint of venom, the stains _didn't _seem to be coming out. Probably because of the lack of hot water. He leant in the doorframe, gazing down at the water which was a not-too-pleasant mix of red and brown, before Nick piped up with "Wanna throw your shirt in here too?"

Ellis had no problem with that, pulling the Bull Shifters shirt off over his head with a slight shiver, handing it over to Nick who added it to the mix along with his own button-down blue shirt. Ellis thought to make a comment about how his mom always said never to mix white and colours, but held back when he considered the fact Nick was highly unlikely to pay a blind bit of notice to this advice. Both stood shirtless, the young mechanic couldn't help but watch as Nick emptied and refilled the tub with clean water and powder, the muscles of his back and shoulders shifting and flexing as he moved. They'd both put on a fair bit of muscles over their time together, a mixture of intense activity and lower junk-intake having a visible effect on the pair of them. Ellis had never been fat, but he did enjoy eating a little before the Infection hit. You'd never have guessed that now though, with his body devoid of almost all body fat and replaced with a well-toned physique like he never imagined he'd have. Ellis had taken a while to really notice this himself. Nick hadn't.

"Guess these could do with a wash too... Yours?"

Nick was plucking at his white trousers with a slightly disgusted look, as they were _very_ far from their original colour. Pushing himself to his feet, he seemed to have no problem in undoing the waistband and pulling them off, slipping his shoes from his feet as he did. While he seemed comfortable, Ellis pointedly looked away, suddenly very interested in the bath water. Usually this kind of thing wouldn't bother him, but for reasons unknown to the young man, being in a small space with Nick only in his boxers (black, strangely. Ellis had expected white) made his stomach knot. Nick had noticed this, with a small grin to himself, as he threw the pants into the water with the other clothing. It'd need several rinses to even have a chance of returning to its original colour.

"Going to put yours in, or not?" he persisted, raising an eyebrow at Ellis, trying hard to keep his face as neutral as possible, despite the desire to chuckle at the kids discomfort.

"N-naw, it's cool. Only gonna get dirtier when I'm workin' on the car. Maybe another time," the mechanic hurried his response, his eyes quickly moving to Nick again, the short glance being enough to flush his cheeks slightly as he quickly turned and made his way back to the living room instead. The gambler couldn't help but grin broadly to himself at the young man's naivety. Shaking his head, he returned to trying to wash the now sodden clothing at the bottom of the bathtub, smile soon fading as he realised the blood wasn't shifting..

It wasn't the only thing.

Ellis sat down firmly in the armchair that was now defined as 'his', hands firmly clamped in his lap as he took several long, steadying breaths. _What the __hell__, man? _he exclaimed to himself as he pressed down into his groin. He'd never had a... _slip-up_ like that at random, and let alone over a _guy_. Needless to say, this had freaked him out quite a fair amount. The mechanic screwed his eyes tightly shut, continuing take slow, deep breaths, and trying to sort out what the hell was going on in his clearly zombie-crazed mind. This was not normal, and he needed to get a handle on his. Hell only knew what Nick's reaction would be if he found out...

If only he had known how amused Nick would be over the Georgian's huge over-reaction to something as simple as getting hard by surprise.

To Ellis, this was clearly another sign of the apocalypse. It was at least ten minutes before he'd begun to calm down, and twenty before he got to his feet again. Nick was still washing clothes, and Ellis figured he'd leave him to it. He instead passed straight by the bathroom, grabbing a dish cloth from the kitchen as he did so, and returned to the garage once more, figuring he'd lose himself in unnecessarily cleaning and tinkering with the Honda once again. He polished metal that'd only get greasy again, checked the oil three times, considered starting the ignition and then reconsidered, and generally did a lot of tasks that were for little more than wasting time and occupying his mind. He was so heavily engrossed in the menial jobs that he didn't even notice, almost thirty minutes after starting, that Nick had been watching him from the doorway.

To save Ellis's sanity, he'd at least had the decency to throw a towel around his waist, though both men remained shirtless. The elder of the two had watched the mechanic move under the bonnet of the car, clearly throwing himself into his work as a thin sheen of sweat glistened across his back and shoulders. He couldn't see the young man's face, but he could imagine it was contorted in concentration, as he'd seen it several times before. Nick didn't have the awkwardness around sexual situations that his young companion had, and while it was a shame Ellis wasn't a girl's name, belonging to a tall, curvaceous blonde bombshell with a surprising ability to survive against zombies, he guessed that he could have done a lot worse. Sure the kid wasn't his usual type (his usual type being female, with one or two exceptions in his life that he preferred not to discuss), but there was _nothing_ usual about his life anymore. Sometimes, you just had to see where the chips fell, and play the game by ear. You couldn't pre-plan everything in life, right?

He smiled, a rare, soft smile as he let his eyes wander over the body of the young mechanic, before turning and making his way back to the bathroom. When Ellis looked up, the doorway was empty.


	5. Edging Closer

**Chapter Four – Edging Closer**

Ellis and Nick were in strange territory.

The mechanic had no idea when it had happened, nor did he want to explore why in too much detail, but he and Nick were suddenly much more pleasant company for one another. Perhaps it _was_ the better nights sleeps that were doing it, as Nick was more amiable than usual (though still retained his arrogant charm, one might note) and generally seemed to mind being around the Georgian much less than he used to make out. In turn, Ellis was starting to get over the weird sensations he found creeping up his spine when he was in close proximity to the older male, and now occasionally caught himself almost trying to seek them out! When they turned in for the night, one laying awake while the other slept, both were fully aware of how little space they bothered to leave between one-another, and it was not unusual for their legs, hips or arms to be brushing. It was a strange advance to their friendship, Ellis thought, but he couldn't deny that he liked it.

He was used to physical contact, at the end of the day. From Keith who'd fight and wrestle with him, to his mom who'd fuss and preen over him, he was used to having people close by when his head wasn't stuck hovering above an engine. The return of this to his life in the form of Nick's presence, while strange to adjust to at first, had quick become a very welcome return to Ellis's daily routine, and it was made all the better as the older male seemed to often have an excuse to be nearby, play-punch him, or pat him on the shoulder. Small things, but ones Ellis found himself almost craving before long.

Their 'short stay' in the suburban house had stretched to almost two weeks now, and while both wondered just how long their stay would last, neither wanted to broach the subject, perhaps for fear of it being a catalyst to their leaving. Sure, Ellis wanted to make tracks at some point, but for now, he was happy where he was. It was a relief to just be able to _live_ instead of fight to survive for a while. Now, however, they were running out of excuses to stay. Ellis had done everything short of re-paint the car in the garage, they'd both siphoned all the fuel tanks on the street to stock up on gas, and they had a very decent supply of food to keep them going. What other reasons did they have _not_ to leave anymore? They couldn't just hide out in the abandoned house forever, after all.

Nick had done the daybreak watch today, being awoken by Ellis late into the night, and taking over so that the hick could get some sleep. He'd vigilantly stared blankly at the walls and ceiling throughout the night, smirking as the younger man snored beside him, unconsciously moving in closer as he turned to lay on his side, facing Nick. They both looked much better for the respite they'd enjoyed at the suburban house: both had washed and shaved, and done what they could about cleaning their clothes, and even gone as far as looking through the drawers for clean underwear (all pretence that they were bothered by wearing another person's underpants lost, as when you'd worn your own for more than a week during a zombie outbreak, you learned not to care so much about such things). Despite their relaxation, they'd taken no chances with safety. Both still carried a weapon around with them at all times, or at least kept one within arm's reach. The doors and windows were still shut and checked regularly, and any movement in the street was instantly scoped out with furtive peeks through the blinds and curtains.

But they were happier doing it, perhaps purely for the fact they were enjoying the company of one another in the process. The first time that Ellis had woken up to find himself curled against Nick's side, he hurriedly pushed himself away and made muttered excuses to make his way swiftly to the next room. After a few days of this, he started to take the matter more at ease, neither man commenting on just how close to each other they were falling asleep now, but instead wordlessly accepting it. Even Nick had been a culprit, having more than once dropped his arm over Ellis' waist in his sleep as the younger man stayed awake at his side. At least, Nick had pretended to be asleep.

"When're we leavin'?"

Nick peered up from the rifle on his lap (procured from one of the houses along the street) that he'd been attended to, to shoot a questioning glance at the hick. The two had fallen into such a comfortable routine here that the gambler had been certain his companion would want to stay as long as possible, and thus avoid the subject of moving. When Nick had awoken at the young mechanics side that morning, things seemed just the same as every other day that week. Perhaps Ellis did more thinking than Nick gave him credit for. "You _want_ to make a move?" Nick queried, an eyebrow arched as he observed Ellis, who had dropped his gaze down to his feet now, muttering something about needing to leave at some point. It was true enough, and if Nick was honest with himself, he hadn't entirely looked forward to this day. Instead of voicing this, he merely sighed with an air of impatience, grasping the rifle as he pushed himself to his feet, shouldering the weapon. "Why didn't you say you wanted to leave, Overalls? We could be half-way to Vegas right now.."

The slightly harsh edge to Nick's tone had been primarily absent of late, but did break out every now and again to remind Ellis quite firmly that Nick, even if he _was _being a nicer guy, was still not to be fucked with. The mechanic ran a hand over the back of his neck, shrugging as he lamely responded with "Jus' didn' want t' hurry things, is all,", glancing up at Nick apologetically. Seeing the large, grey-blue eyes staring across at him caused Nick to quickly look away, clearing his throat as he ordered the mechanic to start getting his stuff together.

Preparation for departure took longer than Nick had expected. Not only had their raids of stores and neighbouring houses left them holding a lot of weaponry and ammunition (not to mention the two axe's they'd taken, just in case), but their food stores were also decent, as were their first aid items. Nick had spent the last few days tearing things apart to make a new load of pipe-bombs, and carefully placed them in the back seat of the car, along with their other supplies. Perhaps they were intentionally stalling themselves, as the job that should have taken thirty minutes tops ended up being over an hour, with Ellis loading the last of the shotgun rounds he'd found into the door-pocket of the car, Nick already having declared himself ready, and taken the drivers seat. The mechanic had expected this arrangement, what with the fact Nick liked to take charge of every situation. He climbed in to sit on the passengers side, closing the door behind him with a muffled thud. It had been ages since he'd been in a car like this, what with trucks being his ultimate preference. He sat, staring out of the windscreen, before turning a quizzical look to Nick. Wasn't he going to start the car?

Guessing the question in the hicks mind, Nick raised both his empty hands. "No keys, dumbass," he explained simply, Ellis responding with a sudden "Oh!" of understanding. Without thinking, he leant across the car, down into Nick's lap, and pulled away part of the car facia to get to the wiring underneath. Ellis was oblivious, with his mind set on starting the car, but the same could not be said of the con-man, who was all too aware of just how imtimately placed the younger male was. It took a lot of willpower to control himself from revealing just what was going on in his mind at that very moment, this particularly explicit train of thought broken as the engine began to struggle at turning, before finally firing to life.

"Wooo! Bet'cha didn't think I could do it, huh?" Ellis smirked, mistaking Nick's surprised expression for being purely relating to the hotwiring of the Honda. He wasn't going to correct the young man, Nick instead putting his hands on the steering wheel, pressing the accelerator lightly and revving the engine. The noise wasn't wise, but they hadn't seen an infected for two days. "Get the door, Overalls," he ordered, Ellis still smirking as he grabbed a shotgun from the back seat before sliding out of the car, walking over to the garage doors and starting to manually roll them up. Ellis's eyes scanned the street for movement while Nick's eyes instead skirted over the flexing muscle's in the hicks arms and shoulders as he pulled the door up. He quickly returned his gaze to the road as the mechanic climbed back into the car, slamming the door behind him.

"Next stop, Vegas."

"Ain't yew gunna miss New Orleans?"

Nick didn't even have to bother to respond to Ellis's sarcastic grin, though his lips did tug upwards just a little as he put his foot down, speeding out into the street.


	6. On The Road

**Chapter Five – On The Road**

Sleeping in a car sucked, big-time.

They deemed it their best bet for now, as once they hit the roads, the long, houseless stretches between towns were more or less entirely deserted. It made sense to just find a suitable spot and sleep in the car, rather than drive tired until they found a possibly unsafe house.

The downside that both men found, but never voiced, was that this meant sleeping with a space of at least a foot or so between them, what with the well between the seats to hold the gearstick and handbrake. It wasn't until their first night sleeping in the Honda that both Ellis and Nick realised with a pang how much they'd become used to proximity with one another. For Ellis, this wasn't so huge a surprise. He quite liked being close to other, be it crashing out beside Keith or another of his guy buddies, or falling asleep with one of his female friends in his arms after a particularly late party. He was quite well-known for how comfortable he was to sleep on, and as such was popular with the girls when those early hours of the morning showed up, and people starting looking for a soft place to rest their heads. Luckily for them, Ellis was always the perfect gentleman..

For Nick, however, it _was_ a strange turn of events. The man was self-confessedly solitary, only sharing beds when something was in it for him. The idea of laying with someone just for the _comfort_ of the situation was quite alien to his mind. Yet, as he lay on his side with the back of the driver's seat rolled back as far as it could go, he couldn't help but watch the gently snoring hick, and feel the slight desire to move just that little bit closer to him.

Nick reluctantly shared the task of driving, the two men taking it in shifts for two days, the third resulting in them finally coming across an abandoned house. Unlike the others, there were no dead bodies anywhere nearby. Nick had slowly pulled up outside the house, both men peering out of the car windows, watching for any sign of movement. "Risk it?" Ellis asked, turning his eyes to Nick, who gave a mute nod before climbing from the car, pistol in hand. Ellis followed with the shotgun.

The door was locked, though that was no problem from the con-man. Despite Ellis's kind offer to kick the door off it's hinges, Nick opted for the more subtle approach of picking the lock, allowing them a much quieter entry. Once they were inside, the two of them were stunned into momentary silence, before Ellis let out a low whistle.

The house was untouched.

It was the first one either man could recall, since the Infection really set in, that had not been destroyed. It was so surreal that it took a while for the two to even comprehend that it was possible! They'd walked straight into the main living area, a large square room with thick red carpet that cushioned their footsteps, with two large three-seater couches placed at an angle in front of a modest TV set, photographs and portraits breaking up the patterned wallpaper. A family home, it seemed, judging by the smiling man and woman featured alongside two young girls in most of the pictures. Ellis wandered on in in awe, the gun now hanging loosely at his side as he glanced over the walls. Nick snapped out of the daze rather swiftly, and was moving with much more meaning to his step, taking himself straight to the kitchen.

Hot water, check. Electricity... check?

"Hey Nick! Check this out..."

The hick was peering out of the window to what could be called the 'back yard', though in fact there was no fence or indication as to where the yard ended, and the rest of the world began. Though Nick didn't need any further assistance in being told where to look, the younger male pointed nevertheless towards several large, sleek black objects. "Some'a them solar 'lectric thingies..."

"Well, that explains why the refrigerator is still humming."

For once, goddamn hippies had proven useful to the con man.

This was a damn good place to set up for a while, they decided. With hot water, Nick actually stood a chance of getting some of the shit out of his suit... and hell only knew Ellis could do with a damned good scrub-down. Further investigation revealed a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, some shotgun rounds in a hallway cupboard, and perfectly-made beds. No car, however. Nick figured the family must have upped and left when news of the infection reached them, probably to go be with family or something. Either way, the house hadn't been touched for some time, owing to the thin layer of dust that lay on top of all the smooth surfaces. After the ordeal they'd been through, however, neither Nick or Ellis were about to complain about the cleanliness of the place. Besides, dust aside, the place was reasonably spotless.

Living room, kitchen, two bedrooms (one master, and one containing bunk beds) and a single family bathroom. Big enough to house the two men more than comfortably for a few days, but small enough for them to keep an eye on it. They spent a short amount of time making sure the windows and doors were secure, not wanting to take any risks despite the apparent lack of infected in the area, before checking out the food supplies. Ellis surprised Nick that evening when he began pulling various containers from the cupboards, throwing a pan onto the electric stove and starting to boil up water. The kid could cook? Well, if you could count pasta as cooking, then yes. Nick was far from about to complain though, even as Ellis started defrosting frozen mince in the microwave (like some kind of goddamn college student, Nick sneered to himself) before throwing it in the mix. Of course, the conman could have easily brought up the fact of how substandard this was to... well, just about _everything _he'd ever consumed in his lifetime, but after taking his first mouthful of the slap-dash bowl of bolognaise that Ellis had dumped unceremoniously in his lap as he sat on one of the couches, a proud, goofy grin on his face, Nick found himself quite unable to berate him.

It tasted pretty good.

"So...?"

Nick settled with rolling his eyes and continuing to eat, but the lack of insult was more than enough for Ellis to know he did a good job, and he practically bounced back to the kitchen to fetch his own serving.

Neither needed to even bring up the matter of sleeping arrangements, as each man was very aware that there was no question to be asked regarding them sharing the master bedroom. Nick had opted to let Ellis shower first, so he could continue snooping around the house without the hick staring over his shoulder the whole time. Ellis had no arguments with this, and had happily gone off to the bathroom, allowing his companion free rein to rummage through drawers and cupboards. He found some jewellery, good stuff, which he pocketed ('When all this shit is over, I'm gonna be rich,' he told himself after every diamond looted and every cash register raided on his travels) but aside from that, the family were clearly far from rolling in it, and even he wasn't about to stoop so low as to smash open the ceramic piggybanks in the children's room. Walking back down the hallway to the master suite, he couldn't help but peer at the bathroom door as he passed it, which was left quite widely ajar. He curiously found himself leaning up to it, peering through the foot-wide opening and into the bathroom.

The shower stood in the far corner, constructed from lightly misted glass. The water was running and steam filled the air... But neither the steam nor the patterned glass were quite enough to block the sight Nick now found his eyes unable to tear away from.

Now, Nick worked at keeping his figure. He didn't eat crap, and he made an effort to move around a lot, so as to not pick up the pounds from the restaurants and bars he used to love so much. The hick, however, had led a totally different life. When you combined hearty meals to an active life of work, labour, and walking, you ended up with... Well, you ended up with Ellis.

Even frosted glass was not enough to hide the sculpted dips and curves of the younger males body, his back to the door as he rubbed shampoo into his short, curly hair. Nick took full advantage of the hicks obliviousness and allowed his gaze to wander freely, half-wishing the young man would turn just a little more side on... but beggars couldn't be choosers. The smooth planes of his back, the just visible curves of his ass (damn glass was frosted most heavily in that particular area) and the visible dull-blue tattoo on his arm, shoulder blades shifting as he lathered up. The kid may not have had much in the brains department, but boy did he make up for it with the body. The more he looked, the more he could feel his heart rate increase in speed, hammering against his chest. It wasn't long before his pants, loose as they were, were beginning to feel uncomfortable tight.

The kid had been in the shower for fifteen minutes, and had only just started washing his hair. He'd be at least another ten, right? That was more than enough time. Nick kept his gaze on the mechanic for several more long seconds, burning the image of him into his mind, before walking down the corridor to the bedroom, locking the door behind him.

More than enough time, he figured, as he unfastened his slacks.


End file.
